According to evidence gathered by the NGO Oceana, the Italian fishing industry has influenced the decision by the European Parliament's Committee on Fisheries to postpone the vote on the management plan for demersal species caught in western Mediterranean waters (see EUROPE 12147, 12144).
Oceana explained on Friday, December 7, that it had seen evidence revealing that an EU-funded body, the Mediterranean Advisory Council (MedAC), had aligned with a portion of the Italian fishing industry “to lobby MEPs and postpone the vote” on the Western Mediterranean Multiannual Plan, according to the NGO.
Senior figures within this advisory body, who are required to remain impartial, orchestrated and disseminated the position of the fishing industry to the Members of the European Parliament, urging them to delay the vote.
This would not be the first time that this tactic has been used to influence debates on fishing in the Mediterranean, says Oceana.
Oceana considers that this action “violates” the principles of impartiality and transparency to which the Advisory Committees are bound. Lasse Gustavsson, Executive Director for Oceana Europe, requested the Commission to “conduct a thorough investigation and take proportionate measures to restore the credibility of this Advisory Council”. According to a provisional timetable, the Parliament Fisheries Committee plans to vote on the dossier on 10 January. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)